On March 17th to commemorate
the 3rd anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, bicyclists in Colorado
Springs took to the streets in a Critical Mass Bike Ride for Peace. An estimated
70 bicycle and skateboard riders showed up to demonstrate their opposition
to the war and to create an alternative to the modern car culture, which drives
our need for cheap oil and for control over oil producing areas of the globe.
Riders started gathering at 5:00 pm on N. Tejon Street and were of by 5:30
taking to the streets en masse. Many of the riders carried flags and signs
denouncing the war in Iraq others wore green for St. Patrick's Day.
There were enough riders this month to occupy all three lanes of one-way traffic
on Tejon Street. As we rode through the crowded bar district of downtown we
chanted "Bikes Not Bombs", rang our bells and waved peace signs.
Many of the St. Paddy's day revelers cheered us on and waved peace signs back.
We continued to make loops through downtown chanting antiwar slogans and blocking
intersections for entire light cycles with much support from all that we encountered,
even cars that got caught at lights and in our mass. The group even clogged
up the intersection of Nevada and Colorado right in front of a cop waiting
at the light without any harassment from the cop. After about an hour of spirited
riding and chanting through the streets of the city the mass started to thin
out and finally ended by 6:45. Overall, the event was a success in that it
brought the bike community and the antiwar community together, and it was
the largest Critical Mass ride to date in Colorado Springs.